The Uber announced an investment of US$10 billion (approximately R$50 billion) to buy fleets of robotaxis and acquire stakes in cutting-edge technology companies, according to the Financial Times.
The plan is to put autonomous cars on the streets of at least 15 cities in 2026. To achieve this, Uber entered into partnerships with more than a dozen suppliers. Among them are the Chinese Baidu and the North American Rivian.
Of the total invested, approximately US$7.5 billion (R$37 billion) will be used exclusively for the acquisition of vehicle fleets in the coming years.
Robotaxis: Uber tries to make up for lost time in the race for automation
This strategic shift marks a complete reversal from 2020, when Uber sold its own autonomous technology division to focus on immediate profitability.
Now, the company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has decided to spend more than double the amount received from that sale to ensure that the platform has autonomous vehicles in the future.
Among the new businesses, an agreement with the electric vehicle manufacturer stands out. Lucid. Uber will invest US$500 million (R$2.5 billion) in the company and will buy at least 35 thousand cars.
Furthermore, Uber acts as a kind of bridge in the sector, helping companies like Waabi and the Nuro to close deals with major automakers to equip thousands of new autonomous vehicles.
The rush has a clear reason: giants like Google (Waymo), Tesla and Amazon (Zoox) they move quickly and try to exclude intermediaries from the process.
In San Francisco (USA), for example, Waymo has already won 16% of the market of rides, while Uber still leads with 62%. Now, Uber wants to be the main channel through which autonomous vehicle technology reaches consumers.
To finance this expensive transition, Uber plans to create a financial ecosystem in which banks and investment funds help pay for car maintenance.
The idea is to transform robotaxi fleets into profitable financial assets, in a similar way to what happens today with large data centers. And a fundamental ally on this journey is the Nvidiawhich already invests with Uber in artificial intelligence (AI) startups such as Wayve.
Despite the massive investment, Uber admits that robotaxis still represent a small part of the business. Even so, they are seen as a trillion dollar opportunity.
As this technology increases its scale, Uber has increased its profit margin on traditional rides, even retaining 30% of the amount paid by users at the end of 2025.
The CEO’s final bet is that the company continues to be the first choice of manufacturers as it has the largest passenger base on the planet.
Source: www.olhardigital.com.br
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